Discussion

Beer Garden/Day Drinking in Boston

I have friends visiting from New York and am looking for a fun/lively place to take them drinking Saturday afternoon. Are there any places in Boston that might have a similar atmosphere/vibe to Houston Hall or the Standard Biergarten in New York? It doesn't have to be trendy, just fun.

Meadhall has the 12 Brewers of Christmas thing that just started yesterday. Besides the fact that it benefits a very worthy cause (Toys for Tots), they're also going to have some incredibly rare beers available over the next couple weeks.

I'd look into special events wherever you go. I've been to all of these places when they've been dead in mid-day. Lord Hobo is smaller so the effect is less pronounced than at Meadhall or CBC.

Sporting events bring crowds to the Garden bars, although none is particularly commendable. College football draws folks to some places. Allston has a little more daytime drinking activity than elsewhere. Maybe Deep Ellum and/or Sunset Grill?

Irish pubs can be fun during the day. Maybe the Field or Plough or Burren or Black Rose or Mr. Dooley's or Doyle's/Sam Adams (not sure of tour hours) or lots of places in Southie.

You could also hit Trillium Brewery to try a few things, maybe grab a growler for the road, on your way to Harpoon (and why not pop into Lucky's as well, maybe hit Drink when it opens at 4?).

I wouldn't recommend sweetwater. I noted Black Rose/Mr. Dooley's as what I think are the best of the generally-not-so-great Faneuil Hall lot. I guess Green Dragon for the history maybe, or if anyone has entertainment during the day. Pour House will probably have some folks there, but pretty average bar. Very cheap bar food, though. The ugly sweater bar crawl is on Boylston this Sat., so that will draw lots of folks out around there.

i don't really think of quincy market as being all that busy in winter and even in summer it's not a place i hang. i've gotten slammed on this board before for dissing the place, but unless you have kids, i don't see the appeal.

also depends on the demographic into which the op fits. might have a fine time at the sevens and beacon hill pub or might prefer kendall square. the beer selection at mead hall is one of the biggest in the city, but the crowd is hit or miss on saturday afternoons. it's an easy walk to cbc, tommy doyle's and the west bridge and/or belly for food.

then again, they got the harpoon beer hall rec, which is a good one, and then an easy trip to chinatown or north end for food.

I can appreciate BH Pub since I used to go to the Bow, but a fair assessment, particularly in the light of day, is that it's pretty dingy and dive-y. The places referenced in NYC are big and modern. Meadhall and Harpoon are really the closest we can come for looks.

Wow! Can't say I've ever seen Westy 12 at a restaurant/bar in Boston. I haven't been to the Salty Pig in at least a year. Always struck me as a place with a good not great beer list. Will have to get back there.

I only found it plausible because I have seen a random bottle of Westy 12 and (more often 8) on some store shelves over the years. Probably should have figured the beer nerds would have drank it all in about a day were this true.

Somewhere around 1500 westy 12 six packs were legitimately distributed in the US over a year ago. The monestary did a one time release in order to pay for renovations. Shelton brothers was the importer and they sold many of them at The Festival in worcester to fest attendees. The rest were sold at retail and scooped up within hours.

Salty Pig is the only place that I can think of a beer bar that resembles anything like a beer garden from NYC. Its not a beer nerd paradise, but it definitely has a lot of great beers and is a ton of fun. Add to that the excellent service, great food and atmosphere, good location and you have yourself a prime spot for hanging out and having a few brews.

I took a look at the places in the OP, and it's much smaller than either of them. Harpoon or maybe Meadhall when packed for a special occasion look closer to me. The only other place that big that might be busy would be somewhere like Sacco's Bowl Haven/Flatbread Co. in Davis.

While it's nothing like the NYC beer gardens mentioned in the original post, I agree that Flatbread / Sacco's is a good, fun place for day drinking. The bar area usually has plenty of space, and you can have some drinks while you wait to bowl.

Also, my NYC friends love it because they mainly carry local beer, cider, and spirits - mostly stuff they can't get in New York.

The only negative is that there are a ton of kids there on weekend days.